Son of Kahuna (56K!)

[jeffboyarrdee]

Sssaaawwweeeeeettt!!!

[Buck]

Your efforts really show in the tank Steve.
One of these days I gotta take a road trip down to see this beast in person and while Im there I would love to see this tank as well !

Count me in as one of the "Wow" people !

[rasetsu]

I hate you...I hate you so very very much. LOL! The colors look awesome.

I love the pic of the discus staring down the shrimp. Are they ghosties or amanos?

[AndrewH]

This is a very beautiful display.

I really like the way the acrylic allows you to not use a canopy/hood and that you can't see any equipment in/around the tank. Very sleek and clean looking setup.

[kzr750r1]

Have a similar battle starting here. Slapped the bio filter on the 55 in a similar manner and messed with the quantity/number of fast growers. GDA on some of the old growth java and GSA growing faster on the glass.

I'm also experiencing a crypt melt in the process... So the added plant matter is not helping anything.

I feel messing with to many things just whacks out the balance.

I've been doing some WC biweekly to keep IMO now excess NH4 from building up post changes.

At this point doing my best to get ferts back on track. PO4 seems high and for several months I have added little NO3. It's at an all time low...

Keep up the good fight. I wonder if it's possible to back flush with tank water during some WC. May extend the filter life and existing bio mass.

[scolley]

Originally Posted by gmccreedy

Out of curiosity, did you have similar problems with the original Kahuna? Can you possibly attibute it to the intensity of the metal halides?

I had a little bit of this problem with my original 20g tank, before the original Kahuna. And when I had the problem with the 20g, it was before it really grew in. So my assumption is that - as I stated before - it is a "maturity" issue. Which frankly, may well be more a function of biofiltration mass than tank longevity.

Originally Posted by rasetsu

I hate you...I hate you so very very much. LOL! The colors look awesome.

I love the pic of the discus staring down the shrimp. Are they ghosties or amanos?

Hey pal... I hate you too!
Just kidding. That's pretty funny! LOL!

I've got amanos. But the shrimp that keep the bottom clean are all ghost, or glass, shrimp. Two different common names for the same shrimp.

But make no mistake! These buggers really thirve in these conditions. I've got one or two bamboo shrimp (or wood shrimp) in my tank. And while these are normally considered to be large shrimp, I've got ghost shrimp that have grown longer. Maybe not thicker, but MUCH longer.

And some of these ghost shrimp have gotten REALLY big. So big that some have blue claws, and try to grab (and eat) other ghost shrimp. In fact, when i was dropping a blood worm cube in the tank today, one big fat blue clawed ghost shrimp swam right past the discus (practicaly swatting them out of the way!) and sat there right at the top of the water, in my face, waiting for me to drop in the food! It saw me... and got there before the fish! Not to stupid for an invert IMO!

Originally Posted by kzr750r1

Have a similar battle starting here. Slapped the bio filter on the 55 in a similar manner and messed with the quantity/number of fast growers. GDA on some of the old growth java and GSA growing faster on the glass.

I wonder if it's possible to back flush with tank water during some WC. May extend the filter life and existing bio mass.

Well thanks... it's good to know that I'm not alone it this experience.

But I'm afraid the backflush function just does not work on the OC 340. Which is too bad really.

Yet all in all, I'm pretty happy. I was assuming that my wonderful, long lasting , filtration was due to my back flush efforts. But in fact, the 340 does not back flush much at all. My long lasting great filtration was just due to the incredible capacity of the OC 340!

That said, this whole experience has convinced me to shelve my Eheim Pro II, and go buy that 2nd OC 340 that I had intended all along.

My order will commence in moments...

[LondonDragon]

WOW amazing tank, that plumbing is amazing thats what I call high tech.
If I send you a plane ticket, offer free accomodation and food will you come to the UK and do the setup for my new tank???? hehehe Congrats

[scolley]

Originally Posted by LondonDragon

If I send you a plane ticket, offer free accomodation and food will you come to the UK and do the setup for my new tank????

Sure! I usually stay in Mayfair, somewhere not too far from the Green Park station. I find that real convenient to most of the places I like/need to go. Can you set me up with that? If so, I'm there!

PS - actually that is true. That's why my tank is so automated. I travel a pretty good bit. And until lately, London has been a frequent stop.

[Steve Kelly]

Originally Posted by scolley

But I'm afraid the backflush function just does not work on the OC 340. Which is too bad really.

Yet all in all, I'm pretty happy. I was assuming that my wonderful, long lasting , filtration was due to my back flush efforts. But in fact, the 340 does not back flush much at all. My long lasting great filtration was just due to the incredible capacity of the OC 340!

That said, this whole experience has convinced me to shelve my Eheim Pro II, and go buy that 2nd OC 340 that I had intended all along.

My order will commence in moments...

Steve,

For general reference purposes, I would like to know the following:

1. With a new 25 micron cartridge in your OC filter what does the pressure gauge indicate with the Poseidon PS1 running full tilt?

2. If you close the valve(s) on the 'Output' side of the OC what will the pressure rise to?


I've been using one of the Nu-Clear 533s and one of the older Lifegard Quiet One pumps (600gph @ 7 Ft. head) on my 90-gallon tank for about a month now and have been very happy with its performance. The band clamp sealing mechanism used on this filter has given me no troubles when it comes to changing out media and re-sealing the canister.

With a new 25-micron cartridge my initial pressure is 3.5 psi. With the 'Output' side of the filter shut off my pump runs the pressure up to 10 psi. However, even with the high output pump I'm using I've found that once the pressure starts to rise above the initial pressure of 3.5 psi the flow from the pump into the tank drops quickly. Once the back pressure gets to around 5 psi I would say the flow through the system is at least 50 percent less than with a new cartridge.

I found that attempting to clean the pleated cartridge by spraying it with a garden hose was pretty much a waste of time. Using a pressure washer was much more effective in removing/forcing more debris out of the fibers. Still, the pressure washer cleaned cartridge seems to have lasted only about one week before the pressure gauge is starting to rise again. I should mention that I did not bleach the cartridge on the first go around. Next time I will do a bleach and pressure wash.


Steve

[bgoodwins]

You might try stepping up to a higher micron size. @5 is pretty small for general purpose unless you have larger (100?) micron filters before it in series.

[bgoodwins]

Scolley, did you ever happen to make that outflow diagram? Color me interested

[samckitt]

This is just beautiful, that is all I can say, beautiful.

[Oqsy]

good stuff as always steve

[jphan]

why do u ahve a wireless router for your tank? lol

[ganjero]

Originally Posted by jphan

why do u ahve a wireless router for your tank? lol

its connected to an aquarium controller and sends all the info to the computer, it can send email alerts and some controllers text message alerts if something is out of balance in your tank.Then with most advance controllers you can turn things off and on through the Internet, in case you are on vacation or something like that, and I believe the owner of this tank travels a lot so its a great tool for him.